Making those keypads last in high mileage Explorers

[Thallarsen]

Here are some preventative maintenance tips and a fix for some of you with inoperable keypads:
I've found that no matter how well you take care of your Ford with keypad entry, the pad will eventually wear out if you use it frequently like I do.
By wearing out, I mean that the weather resistance of the silicone based buttons will deteriorate over time with continued use. Just like bending a piece of plastic repeatedly, over time the button membrane will split away from the 5 button assembly which is a silicone based mold.
What will then happen is moisture will get in behind the pad and corrode the contacts, leading to an inoperable button or buttons. This may happen one day when you're pressing 7-8 and 9-0 to lock the car & nothing happens...or it may happen when you've intentionally locked your keys in the car, relying on the keypad to let you in...and it won't. This is how I learned that my keypad was starting to fail.
You can always open up the keypad assembly and clean the contacts and get the pad to work again, but after a month or so, you'll have a corroded contact again, and eventually a bad keypad unit.
First, some preventative tips for those of you who use your keypads frequently who aren't having any problems yet:

• Don't use the 7-8 or 9-0 buttons for your combination. Reserve these buttons for the 'lock' feature. Most of you who use your keypads use the last two buttons to lock the car. They get plenty of use.
• Try to avoid repeating a button too many times in your combination sequence. The less times that you use specific buttons, the longer that keypad will last.

So in a nutshell, if you need to, change your combination to a combination that uses previously unused buttons. For example, lets' say that your combination is 1,4,2,4,3. You use the 1-2 button 2 times, and the 3-4 button 3 times every time that you unlock. One of these buttons will be the first to wear out.
A fix for those of you who's keypads aren't working:
To the best of my knowledge, the silicone/rubber molded button insert is not available alone without buying/replacing the entire keypad assembly. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know! Otherwise:
If your keypad has seen frequent use in the past; your power locks work fine; your keyless remote works fine; your keypad lights up green when some buttons are initially pressed, but doesn't light up when others are pressed; the default combination doesn't work or the 7-8 & 9-0 sequence doesn't lock the car, chances are you've got a deteriorated/corroded keypad.
You'll need to remove the driver's side door panel, and pull the clip on the inside of the door that secures the keypad to the door. For this fix, there's no need to remove the entire keypad assembly and harness however (PIA). You can simply maneuver the pad out through the opening in the door to access the pad assembly.
Using a small flat head screwdriver, gently pry the sides of the body away from the backing of the body, going around the keypad housing a bit at a time. Once you've freed the housing from the face, you can then remove the silicone/rubber button pad from the housing. Be careful not to push at the buttons too hard, because their membrane is thin & fragile, particularly without the keypad housing to back them up.
Once removed, inspect the membranes for splits.
Gently clean the damaged areas with MEK or thinner and let dry.
DuPont makes a good silicone adhesive that comes in a small 3 or 4 oz. tube. Make sure that it's an adhesive, not simply a sealant or caulk.
Use a toothpick to run a thin bead around the split area, and take care not to get the silicone adhesive on the copper contacts.
Give the adhesive 24 hrs. to cure fully.
Re-install.
You should now have weather proof buttons once again.
Note: After repairing one or two buttons in this manner, their operation won't be as smooth as when new, since you've beefed up the membrane with your repair. Time to change your combination so as to avoid using these buttons altogether, if possible.

 

[rabbit91]

old post, thanks for this info. grabbed another keypad from the junkyard today and hoping it works and i can just swap the face (colored part). my truck is the limited light green and the spare keypad i picked up is white. figured white would be a good color if i find that i need to paint it to match.

 

[EB4X]

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My keypad wasn't working upon purchase... good luck with your install.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Nice work maintaining your keypad.

Several years ago, I replaced the entire keypad. (Happily, this did not interfere with the codes.). New old stock parts were available on eBay. In quick search, some new old stock models are still available.

Good luck.